Garment finishing press



April 25, 1950 H. D. FORSE GARMENT FINISHING PRESS Filed March 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 25, '1950 H. D. FORSE 2,505,107

GARMENT FINISHING PRESS Filed March 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 25, 1950 Filed March 9, 1945 H. D. FORSE GARMENT FINISHING PRESS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 25, 1950 iF iI HIN P S :Hai'ry 1). Forse, Anderson, ma."

Abputatwh'Mareh-e, 1945',"Serial"No."5811797 This invention relates to"'improvements in presses and moreparticularly to agarmentfinish ing press for laundries and dry-cleaning estab= lishments.

*It is an object of this' 'inventionto provide'a press of this character with a frame constructed of sheet metal upon which the moving parts are mounted within and upon a'sheet metal hood. The entire press presents a pleasing symmetrical stream-linedoutline to the eye. l 4 It as further object of this invention to sup porta buck' upon the frame to'cooperate with a iie'ad carried upon the underside of the front of the hood for manually engaging and disengaging the head Y with" the buck, in which" a the pivoted hood takes the" place of the conventional rocker armsupporting the head. It is a further object of this invention to provide a deviceof the character just "described with means -for'imparting additional pressureto the' -head after it has been brought into pressing relation with" the buck and the additional provision-of the application of fluid pressure to supplement the manual pressure at the end of the pressing engagement. i

Thisfimproved press does not only present .a pleasing appearance to the eye but by enclosing all of the moving parts within the frameland hood-adds tothe safety of the operator as the hood prevents any memberof the operator's body'or clothing from becoming entangled-in the moving parts. 1r

This improved press is of particular advan: tage to the dry-cleaning establishments because in pressing the majority of articles which'have been dry-cleaned it is only necessary toapply momentary pressure which can be readily and easily attainedby'the manual operation ofwthis press. The press has the additional feature where it isfound necessary in pressing certain materials to exert an additional power to the pressing'head to complete the pressing and this improved press provides means for applying this additional power during the manual operation as well as providing a fluid pressure means which may be readily actuated by the operator at the end of the pressing stroke. Another advantage is 'theprovision of means whereby after the application of fluid pressure to complete the pressing operation the-press will'be locked inthat position until manually released by the operator. Y i

With these and other objects inview reference is made to the accompanyingsheetsof drawings illustrating a formof this invention; with. the understanding that detail changes "may; bee-made without departing from-the scope thereof.

- 2 In the drawings: Figure '1 is a view in side elevation of this improved press showing the position assumediby the parts during the pressing operations Figure la' isa sectional view'of the improved press taken on line lala of Figure l. l i Figure 2 is-a view'in front elevation of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view-in central vertical section of the head and upper portion of the frame showingthe position assumed by the moving parts infull lines at the close .of the pressing operation and in dotted lines in'the position assumed at the beginning of the opening of the press. a Figure 4 is a view in section taken on-thelin 4-4 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows. r

Figure 5 is aview similar to Figure 3 illustrating the position of the moving parts assumed when the press is in the open position. The embodiment of this invention as illustrate includes a frame I and hood 2 formed of sheet metal. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the opposite sides of the frame are spaced apart in parallel relationship joined together at the front by a cylindrical portion tangental to the sides.v The front'and sides of the frame are cutaway-to form a horizontal shelf extending abouttwothirds of the way to the rear of the frame. -The sides of the frame extend symmetrically above the shelf to form a support for a pivotshaft'3 upon which the hood 2 is mounted. This projection slopes rearwardly and upwardly from'the shelf and. this is curved about the pivotal support and is carried therebeyond on an arc of a circle tangental to the rear vertical ends of the sides. The rear vertical ends of the sides. and the projection above the shelf are provided with right angular inturned flanges 4 which give the frame rigidity. The sides of the frame at the rear'are connected to each other by a plate 5 attached to the inturned flanges which is terminated a sufficient distance below the pivotal point of 'the hood to allow the hood to be rotated and the rear portion received between the sides. of the frame. i i The hood 2 is also formed of sheet metal hav- .ing spaced apart "parallel vertical side members which-are curved at the. front toward each other and extend into a flat front wall. The side walls at thebottom extend inwardly a short distance at right angles to the frontand are then'curved downwardly.- The side walls at the top are curved "upwardly from the hat front and then down ewar ly toijointhe lower walls. The hood at the bottom is open and is closed at the top by a coninuous curved plate connecting the edges of the curved side walls. By this construction the working parts of the members may be enclosed within the hood and frame. The hood 2 is mounted to rotate about a horizontal pivot shaft 3 passing through the side walls and engaging supports 6 provided in the upper extremities of the side walls of the frame covered by the inturned flanges 4.

A rectangular table 1 preferably of enameled sheet metal ware is supported upon the horizontal shelf formed in the side Walls and extending upwardly upon the angular portion and terminating in front of the frame in a curved or ribbed edge. A buck 8 supported upon a standard 9 is mounted upon the top of the table I and this portion of the table may bereinforced by an angle iron Ill extending transversely across the shelf and secured at its ends to the side walls of the frame. The cooperating pressing head H is carried on a plate I2 extending across the bottom of the hood 2 at the front and secured to the walls thereof. The hood 2 is normally held in its open position, shown in Figure 5, by coiled springs l3 anchored at one end to a rod 14 extending transversely of the hood and secured to the opposite interior surfaces of the side walls at a point adjacent the meeting of the curved edges at the rear and at the other end to a stud 15 extending inwardly from each side wall at a point below the pivotal shaft 3 so arranged that the springs are place-d under tension when the press is closed. The flanges 4 of the frame are cut away to allow the spring to move with the hood from open to closed position.

A mechanism is provided for the manual closing of the hood to bring the head and buck into pressing relationship. This mechanism includes a pair of parallel handles 45 passing through vertical slots H in the front of the hood 2 joined together by a hand grip 18. These spaced apart handles are preferably formed of right angular extensions from a connecting plate l9 attached to a rearwardly extending central bracket 20, the upper end 2! of which is mounted upon a horizontal pivot 22. This horizontal pivot 22 is preferably mounted between two similar brackets 23 extending on each side of the center of an angle iron or I-beam 24 secured to the opposite sides of the hood 2. The horizontal bracket is provided with a depending rearwardly extending portion 25, the upper surface of which is formed on a re-entrant curve 26 which includes a cam track 2'! and the rear surface thereof in- A cam roller 28 adapted cludes a cam track 21 to travel over the cam tracks 21 and 2'! is mounted between the upper ends of two bars 29 receiving between them this portion of the horizontal bracket 20, which bars 2-9 are mounted upon the hood pivot 3 and extend therebelow to terminate below the table I with their lower ends joined by a pivoted spacer 30. An adjusting rod 3| is threaded through the spacer 30 at one end and extends through the front of the frame at the other end and is rotatably mounted in the front of the frame between disks 32 secured'tothe shaft on the inner and outer sides of the frame, the outer disk being provided with a knurled knob 33 by which the rod 31 may be rotated to alter the relation of the roller cam carrying bars about the pivot of the hood.

The cam roller supporting bars 29 are so positioned by the adjusting rod 31 that when the hoodis in the open position as shown in Figure 5 the underside of the portion 2| of the handle bracket 20 which surrounds the pivot 22 will be engaged by the upper side of the cam roller 28. When the operator grasps the hand grip l8 and pulls forwardly and downwardly upon it the hood 2 is rotated counter clockwise and the cam roller 28 travels over the re-entrant curved portion of the handle bracket thereby rotating the handle bracket assembly clockwise on its pivot 22. Thus in arriving at a position wherein the buck 8 and head H are in confronting position, as shown in solid lines in Figure 3, and the handle bracket assembly is in substantially its dotted line position. In other words, the handles I6 are elevated and the cam track 21 engages, or is in position to engage, the cam roller 28. With the parts so positioned counter clockwise rotation of the handle bracket assembly on its pivot 22 causes the cam track 27 to be operably advanced on the roller 28 whereby additional pressure is imposed on the head l-l; It is to be noted that when the cam track 27 engages the roller 28, a latching means is provided for locking the press against opening movement. Thus the cam track 21 in conjunction with the cam roller 28 is a dual purpose arrangement. The cam track 21 over which the roller travels in closing the head is formed on the radius of a circle. The relationship of the center of the cam track radius with the axes of the hood pivot 3 and handle pivot 22 is such that as the cam roller travels over the cam track from the position shown in Figure 5 in closing the head, it will force the handle upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. Therefore, when the cam roller rolls over the end of the cam track 21, the continued pressure on the handle toward the position shown in full lines in Figure 3 imparts additional pressure upon the head against the buck. As shown in Figure 3, the lower rearwardly extending portion 25 of the handle bracket is provided with a rearwardly extending lug 34 at the base of the cam track 27 The lug 34 provides an abutment through which an adjusting screw 35 may be threaded to limit the upward movement of the portion 25.

At times it is desired to exert more than manual pressure upon the head. As most dry-cleaning establishments are equipped with steam under pressure this additional power may be imparted to the downward movement of the handle by a power cylinder 36 secured to the upper closure of the hood 2 above the handle and including a piston and piston rod 3'! extending through the cylinder head and adapted to engage the handle bracket between the handle pivot 22 and the bifurcated handles I6. A control valve 38 is mounted on one of the handles Hi connected at one end through a pipe 39 to a source of fluid pressure, steam or air, whichever is most convenient, and at the other end through pipe 40 to the interior of the power cylinder 36. The com trol valve may be of any desired commercial structure whereby the depression of the upwardly biased valve stem 4| will connect the power cylinder "to the source of fluid pressure and in its normal biased position connect the power cylinder to an exhaust 42. In order that the operator may readily apply this additional pressure, a valve operating arm 43 is pivotally mounted upon the handle supporting the valve which handle is provided with an operating button 44 adjacent the hand grip I8 50' that the operator by depressing this button will operate the power cylinder to exert the additional pressure desired. Upon releasing the button, the operating arm 43 will be returned to its normal position by the upwardly biased valve stem 4| in the valve, or by an additional spring 43a secured to the handle, to cut oil? the power cylinder 36 from the source of fluid pressure and exhaust the cylinder to the atmosphere. In dry-cleaning establishments it is often desirable to lock the press after the additional pressure has been applied to allow the operator to service another press. This can be accomplished by the provision of a latch 45 adapted to engage the operating button 44 when it is depressed and hold it in its depressed position until the operator releases it.

It is also preferable to provide a spring 46 between the handle l6 and head carrying plate l2 adjacent the front of the hood 2 to prevent too rapid travel of portion 25 of the handle bracket in relation to the cam roller 28 when the latch is released and the parts moved from the full line position to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 and also to cushion any impact between the curved edge 26 and the cam roller 28 at the end of the return movement.

It is to be particularly noted that the cam track 21 at the rear of the portion 25 between the cam track 21 and the lug 34 forms a bearing surface which engages the roller 28 to impart the final downward movement of the head as shown in Figure 3 and also provides a latch for locking the head against return movement. Thus the downward movement of the head from the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in Figure 3 will cause the cam track 21 to pass under the roller 28 to elevate the handles I6 and then the portion 21 to engage the roller under the action of the biasing spring 46 to lock the head in lowered position. The biasing force of the spring 46 on the handles I6 is suflicient to maintain the latch in locked position without manual assistance. The latch may be released only by rotating the handle bracket assembly in a clockwise direction.

What I claim is:

1. In a garment press a frame, a buck supported upon the frame, a head, a hood mounting the head at its front end and pivoted intermediate its length to the frame, an operating arm pivotally mounted within the hood above the frame pivot, a cam roller mounted between the ends of a pair of spaced apart bars mounted upon the frame pivot and anchored to the frame therebelow at the other end, said operating arm ineluding a pair of operating handles extending through the hood at the front, said operating arm having a depending rearwardly extending portion below the arm pivot providing a cam track to engage the under side of the cam roller whereby movement of the exterior of the handles imparts movement to the hood about its pivot to bring the head into and out of pressing relation with the buck.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein a fluid pressure cylinder is mounted within the head forwardly of the arm pivot having a piston rod adapted to engage the arm, and valve means for said fluid pressure cylinder selectively operable to apply supplemental pressure to said arm.

3. The structure of claim 1 including motor means for applying supplemental pressure to said operating arm, and spring means disposed to cushion the impact at the end, of the opening movement of said head.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said cam roller and said cam track provide cam means for lifting the handles relative to said hood during the movement of said hood into pressing relation with said buck, and motor means for depressing said handles to apply pressure to said opposed head and buck.

HARRY D. FORSE.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,060,625 Perry May 6, 1913 1,209,990 Nevins Dec. 26, 1916 1,260,775 Jones Mar. 26, 1918 1,588,167 Caps June 8, 1926 1,656,656 Anderson et a1 Jan. 17, 1928 1,697,124 Ledbetter Jan. 1, 1929 1,870,894 Card Aug. 9, 1932 1,929,305 Card Oct. 3, 1933 2,046,785 Malott, Jr. July 7, 1936 2,153,690 Hanney Apr. 11, 1939 2,202,167 Peters May 28, 1940 2,239,991 Bush Apr. 29, 1941 2,281,568 Foster May 5, 1942 2,383,810 Masculine Aug. 28, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 645,560 France June 27, 1928 

